I just accidentally deleted the full explanation of this and I don't feel like re-typing it all.

DO NOT USE MYSPACE TO MESSAGE ME, USE EMAIL OR RISK BEING MISSED/IGNORED.

My email address is thelizardman23@gmail.com, if you send me anything there I will definitely read it and you are far more likely to get a personal response.  I will only very rarely be logging onto myspace in the future and probably no longer cross posting show dates and blogs here (not that I blog much anymore, mostly just twitter).  So, if you give a damn I strongly suggest checking out www.thelizardman.com and following me on twitter (http://twitter.com/thelizardman23).  You can also find me on Facebook (till that pisses me off completely) under my given name: Erik Sprague

A couple of nights ago I was walking into Wal-Mart and a two girls and guy (early to mid 20's, I would guess) passed in front of me entering the produce department. One of the girls got ahead of the other two and then looked back and nearly shouted, 'Oh yeah, do you need tampons?' I have never been squeamish about menstruation and 'tampons' isn't one of the words that sets off my immature giggle trigger (if she had said douches or enemas, I might have cracked up laughing) so I may not have noticed this exchange at all if it were not for what happened next. Another small group of shoppers comprised of what I took to be a mother & father with their toddler was nearby and the kid looked up to say, 'What's a tampon?' That made me smirk.

It has been a good damn while since I last made a blog entry, but I don't feel much like playing catch up and mostly just repeating things I have put flickr and twitter. So, in terms of notable events my trip to Canada to perform with Orbax & Sweet Pepper and to appear at the Windy City Weekend was a great time filled with all of my favorite brain cell killing activities. On the way there and back I read two new books and re-read some of my favorite Hesse including Siddhartha. The new books were:

Sausage Factory: The College Crier's Infamous Interviews of the Freaks and the Famous - which includes an interview with me but frankly I am surprised it does because the rest of the people interviewed are so great. It is a huge compliment to me to be included. If you read my blog you probably recognize many of the others in this book and will likely really enjoy it.

Shooter: The Autobiography of the Top-Ranked Marine Sniper - a quick, excellent read. My only complaint being that at times I really felt it would have been better if the ghost writer / editor would have just left it raw instead trying to 'clean up' the writing and/or interject tangential topics and ideas. This story is, in and of itself, more than strong enough with excellent insights on the dichotomy of trying to be a first rate professional soldier and a regular human being getting through life along with a solid first hand account of action in Iraq.

Next month I will be officiating a wedding, spending nine days as a guest member of the Coney Island cast, appearing at tattoo conventions in Hollywood & Stockholm, and possibly (schedule is being worked on now) shooting for a fabulous new project that will talk more about once it actually happens.

Kind of a token entry, it is two days till my brithday and I bought a (large) scooter - Yamaha Majesty. Nothing like a little birthday present to yourself. Its something I have had in mind for a long time and thought I was going to do last year but whatever, I finally got around to it. The next step will be figuring out a show I can carry on it in terms of props and gear. I see more stand-up on the set list.